Bitcala re-platform NHS Careers

The NHS is the world’s fifth-largest employer and NHS Careers is a large, content-heavy site aimed at promoting careers in the NHS; from doctors and nurses to IT and data specialists.

We led the project to re-platform the site, from thousands of static pages and a bespoke content management system, to a modern, standards-compliant CMS with custom applications and great editing tools for end users. As a bonus feature, we made the site’s visual templates responsive: offering better usability on mobile devices.

The site is here: http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/

 

HTML-driven smartphone OS: Open Web Device

Open Web Device says:

 

Open Web Device: the future of the mobile web is here.
HTML5 is the ubiquitous platform for the web. Web developers can use the same set of technologies they know and love to build rich web applications that will also work across mobile devices.

 

This could be a big deal.

http://www.openwebdevice.com/

Why Android scrolling doesn’t match iOS

Dustin Curtis says:

For example, as a designer, it seems to me that many egregious errors were made in the fundamental design of Android’s presentation layer. On all major competing platforms, scrolling performance is given priority over other tasks by the operating system and is accelerated by the GPU. This is important because the interfaces on touch screen devices are treated as tangible, physical objects by the human brain. When a physical action you make with your finger does not lead to the response your brain has learned to expect in the physical world, something feels very wrong. It doesn’t feel genuine.

 

http://dcurt.is/nothing-makes-sense

 

 

You need answers to these two questions

Starting a web project?

There’s two questions you need to ask yourself.

1. Who are our audience?

2. What would we like these people to do?

That’s it.

For example:

We’re a B2C retailer selling hanging baskets. Our audience is over 50s gardeners and we want them to fill in an enquiry form.

From that core statement, you can build out your information architecture, visual design, copy and feature set.

In this case, it has to have a contact form, a clear call to action and – quite probably – pictures of hanging baskets and prices.

Too often the basics of a project are not aligned with its core objectives, and these two simple questions seek to align purpose and strategy.

Two simple questions with a massive amount of complexity involved, but if this is your staring point you’re at least on the right track.

Don’t start a web project without them.

Upcoming: Innovation Culture Course

Bitcala director Will Grant’s ‘Innovation Culture’ course for Econsultancy is a full day of inspiration designed to help make your organisation more agile and inventive.

The course is running next on the 27th March 2012 and booking is available here.

Here’s some choice comments from the last course’s feedback:

“Very inspirational.”

Head, top UK financial services firm.

“I came straight back and put a few of the points straight into place today, as they really helped with a couple of issues I’ve been grappling with.”

Director, major global publisher.

“Thoroughly enjoyed it – I have plenty of takeaways too.”

Manager, large government department.

This course aims to guide managers and senior executives through the background of innovation culture, learning tools and techniques, through to implementing these in the organisation.

Course overview at Econsultancy.

 

Improving email performance with simple usability practices

Simple usability changes resulted in a 1.3% uplift in click-through rates.

Our client’s email campaigns deliver to a high volume of users and generate monthly revenue by driving traffic to an online store. The emails typically feature offers such as ‘money off’ vouchers or exclusive ‘web only’ deals.

The client’s email template features a header, product images and body copy in the following layout:

Original email layout

We suspected that users would be seeing a large part of their mail preview panel filled with that initial image, which on some mail clients wouldn’t load by default.

This resulted in a large ‘broken image’ placeholder filling the message screen, and causing more users to ‘delete on sight’.

The revised design (below) splits the header image into an offer message and product shots and places an introductory paragraph between them.

Revised email layout

The results

An A/B trial was used to determine a performance difference between the two layouts.

The average click-through rate increased from 1.5% on the first design to 2.8% on the revised version.

The 1.3% difference might not sound like much, but it’s all about the numbers. On an average campaign revenue of £800,000 that’s £10,400 extra revenue each and every time that campaigns are sent in the new format.

September 2011 at Bitcala

September in summary…

  • User Experience consultancy for two large organisations
  • Website and CRM integration for a training company
  • A new server infrastructure build for a media firm
  • Talks at Econsultancy and a panel at Retail Systems